The PCR assay is intended to help detect TB-causing bacteria and determine if it harbors mutations associated with isoniazid and rifampicin resistance.
A preliminary analysis based on high-resolution metabolomics pointed to three blood plasma metabolites with apparent ties to active, pulmonary tuberculosis.
The court ruled that Roche's claims are patent-ineligible because they are "directed to a natural phenomenon and lack any inventive concept" for a patent.
Already, public health organizations in the UK, the Netherlands, and New York state are moving toward implementing NGS for tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing.
The firm has been placing point-of-care systems primarily in the private sector, but may have increased access once it completes WHO prequalification review.
NYSDOH's move away from susceptibility testing for isolates that are known to be pan-susceptible will be coordinated with similar international efforts.
Testing with Cepheid's molecular TB assay can shorten the amount of time suspected patients need to be isolated and save thousands of dollars per patient.
Bruker plans to acquire an 80 percent stake in Hain, which has capabilities in tuberculosis and mycobacteria testing as well as virology and human genetics.
